Agitator for washing machines



Jan. 18, 1938. J C NELSON 2,105,774

AGITATOR FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed Dec. 23, 1935 IHYEHTUR" i 1 i QQJb ATT DRNEY I Patented Jam-18, 1938 2,105,774 AGITATOR FOR wasma moms .labez Curry Nelson, Syracuse, N. Y., assiznor to Easy Washing Machine Corporation, Syracuse, 1 N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application December 23, 1935, Serial No. 55,716

8 Claims.

My invention relates to washing machines and more particularly, to a novel agitator or dolly therefor.

An object of my invention is to provide an agitator adapted to be mounted in a washing vat for oscillation therein which is adapted to cleanse the clothes thoroughly and in a minimum length of time.

Another object of my invention is to provide an agitator for a washing machine adapted to be oscillated in a washing vat, the agitator having a central irregularly shaped body portion and blades so constructed and arranged that they cooperate with the body portion to cause a tur- 16 bulence of the washing fluid, a thorough intermingling of the clothes and washing fluid and a constant circulation thereof, whereby new clothes surfaces are constantly being presented to the action of the agitator.

More specifically, my invention contemplates the provision of an agitator for a washing machine in which the central body portion of the agitator comprises two pyramidically shaped figures placed base to base, with the bases in clined to the horizontal, whereby an irregularly shaped body portion is formed and in which a plurality of blades are provided adapted to cooperate with the body portion to produce a turbulence of the washing fluid and a substantial 39 thread-deforming action on the clothes, whereby the clothes are thoroughly cleansed.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be more apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a view of the invention showing my novel agitator and indicating the vat in which it is operated.

Figure 2 is a view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1'.

The agitator of my invention is adapted to be mounted in a vat or tub II in which the clothes and washing fluid are placed. The washing vat may be of any desired shape, either square or, as shown in the drawing, circular in cross section. The agitator, generally indicated by the numeral I2, is preferably mounted centrally of the vat II and is driven by a shaft l3 extending upward through the bottom of the vat. Suitable means are provided for supporting the agitator and enabling it to be driven by the shaft l3, such means including a sleeve M which extends upward through the bottom of the vat concentric with the shaft I3. The preferred manner of supporting and driving the agitator is more particularly shown and described in a co-pending application of Peter Eduard Geldhof filed December 18th, .1935, Ser. No. 55,050. The 5 drive shaft l3 may be driven by any suitable mechanism and from any suitable source of power, not necessary to be shown or described herein since such driving mechanism is well known in the art to which this invention applies. 10 Preferably, the shaft is driven in an oscillatory manner so as to drive the agitator through an arc of degrees, more or less, and at a speed of between fifty and sixty oscillations per minute.

The agitator l2 comprises a base Hi which is 15 mounted close to the bottom of the vat I I and is sloped slightly upward from the outer circumference toward the center thereof. The body portion of the agitator comprises an irregularly shaped figure which is made up of two substan- 2o tially pyramidically shaped structures I! and I8 mounted with their bases l9 and 2i in the same plane. It has been found that a better washing action is secured if the body portion is mounted so that the bases I9 and 2! of the pyramids lie in a plane at an angle to the horizontal, whereby the body portion presents an unsymmetrically shaped structure-to the clothes.

The apices of the pyramids ll and I8 are cut off on substantially horizontal planes so that the 30 pyramids are actually frusto-pyramidical with the lower triangularly shaped cut ofi portion 22 resting upon the base l6 and the upper substantially triangularly shaped cut off portion 23 presenting a horizontal plane for the reception 3 of a cap 24 which may be mounted on the top of the agitator in any suitable manner. The cap 2'3 may be of any desired shape and is provided with a lower flat surface 26 adapted to prevent the upward splashing of cleansing fluid when the 40 agitator is oscillated.

The left hand side of each face of each of the pyramids is extended beyond the plane of the adjacent face to form blades 21, 28 and 29, that is, for example, the surface 3| of the upper pyra- 45 mid and the surface 32 of the lower pyramid are extended to the left beyond the plane of the adjacent faces 33 and 34 to form blade 28. The blades, toward their outer edges, are slightly curved in a clockwise direction as more clear- 50 1y shown in Figure 3, whereby. to form a shallow pocket extending lengthwise of each of the blades. The outer edges 36 of the blades are rounded oif, as more clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3, so as to prevent the formation of sharp 55 edges which would be likely to tear the clothes. The blades, further. are comparatively narrow at the top of the agitator, for example, as at 37, and gradually increase in width toward the corners 38 of the upper pyramid where they are appreciably wider. The blades beyond the corme! 38 of the pyramid are narrowed somewhat and extend downward substantially in the plane of the adjacent face of the agitator with the outer ends slightly curved in a horizontal plane in a clockwise direction. Near the base it, as at 39, the outer edges 36 of the blades are curved outward so that the lower edges of the blades extend substantially to the mriphery of the base i5.

Extending downward on the faces of the upper pyramid l8 from the lower surface 26 of the cap to the base 89, are a plurality of small blades 4|, Q2 and 43. Each of these blades, at the top, extends to the outer periphery of the cap 24 and gradually becomes narrower toward the base l9 substantially in conformity with the slope of the faces of the pyramid. Although each of these blades may be made radial or may be inclined in a clockwise direction with respect to a normal to the corresponding face, preferably, the blade 4| extends radially while the blades 42 and 43 are inclined from a normal to the plane of the face of the pyramid in a clockwise direction.

When the agitator is oscillated, the clothes and washing fluid are carried backward and forward in accordance with the oscillations of the agitator. Due to the fact that the agitator is not symmetrical, a turbulent, forceful, action occurs which is substantially equally effective throughout the depth of the cleansing fluid. The blades 4|, 42 and 43 effect a substantial scrubbing thread-deforming action on the clothes. The blades 21, 28 and 29, because of pockets formed on the clockwise sides of the blades, tend to cause the clothes and washing fluid to circulate in the clockwise direction. The resultant clockwise rotation of the clothes and washing fluid occurs because the blades 21, 28 and 29 exert a. more powerful thrust on the clothes and washing fluid when the agitator is rotated in the clockwise direction than when rotated in the counterclockwise direction so that the clothes are periodically caused to change their relative positions in the vat so that new clothes surfaces are constantly being presented to the action of the agitator.

,While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made in the form of the agitator and relation of parts thereof without departing from the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An agitator adapted to be mounted for oscillation in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid, said agitator comprising two pyramidically shaped figures having their bases facing upon each other and constituting a body portion for the agitator, said bases extending at an angle to the horizontal, and a plurality of blades extending from said body portion.

2. An agitator adapted to be mounted for oscillation in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid, said agitator comprising two pyramidically shaped figures having their bases facing upon each other and constituting a body portion for the agitator, said bases extending at an angle to the horizontal, and a. plurality of blades extending from said body portion, said blades being formed by extending each face of the pyramid along one side thereof beyond the plane of the adjacent face.

3. An agitator adapted to be mounted for oscillation in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid, said agitator comprising two separate and distinct pyramidically shaped figures mounted substantially one above the other and constituting a body portion for the agitator, a base toward which the apex of the lower of said two pyramidically shaped figures extends, and a plurality of blades extending from said body portion.

4. An agitator adapted to be mounted for oscillation in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid, said agitator comprising two pyramidically shaped figures having their bases facing upon each other and constituting a body portion for the agitator, and a plurality of blades extending from said body portion, each of said blades being curved in the same direction in horizontal cross section. v

5. An agitator adapted to be mounted in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid, said agitator comprising two pyramidically shaped figures constituting a body portion for the agitator, and a plurality of blades formed by extending each face of the two pyramids along one side beyond the plane of the adjacent face, each of said blades being curved in the same direction in horizontal cross section.

6. An agitator adapted to be mounted for oscillation in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid, the agitator being in over-all diameter less than half the diameter of the vat so as to provide a space surrounding the agitator for receiving and washing clothes, said agitator comprising two separate and distinct substantially pyramidically shaped figures mounted substantially one above the other and constituting a body portion for the agitator, the apex of the lower of said pyramids extending downward toward the bottom of the vat and the apex of the other pyramid extending upward toward the surface level of the liquid in the vat.

7. An agitator adapted to be mounted for oscillation in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid, the agitator being in over-all diameter less than half the diameter of the vat so as to provide a space surrounding the agitator for receiving and washing clothes, said agitator comprising two separate and distinct substantially pyramidically shaped figures mounted substantially one above the other with their bases facing upon each other and constituting a body portion for the agitator, and a plurality of blades extending from said body portion, said blades being formed by extending the faces of the pyramids beyond the plane of the adjacent faces.

8. An agitator adapted to be mounted for oscillation in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid, the agitator being in over-all diameter less than half the diameter of the vat so as to provide a space surrounding the agitator for receiving and washing clothes, said agitator comprising a. substantially disc-shaped base and two separate and distinct substantially pyramidically shaped figures constituting a body portion extending upward from said disc-shaped base, said pyramidically shaped figures being mounted with their bases contiguous and with the apex of one of the pyramids extending downward toward said discshaped base and the apex of the other pyramid extending upward toward the surface level of cleansing fluid.

JABEZ CURRY NELSON. 

